My computer seems to be on the verge of dying, after nearly five fun-filled years of me writing tons of text on it. The screen keeps flashing white, and I just lost a lengthy tasting note on this tea, a box of which I found while continuing the seemingly endless excavation of my apartment as I prepare to move hopefully this coming Sunday. I’ll attempt to reconstruct what I just wrote and lost.

I recall always having found something slightly discordant about Organic Good Night, which is of course why I still have some around. I bought a box of six boxes from Amazon, but it was never my first choice for pre-bedtime brew. Something about the lavender and the coriander—or was it the hawthorne?—always struck me as a bit odd. I suspect that sarsaparilla may be among the “natural flavors” mentioned in the ingredient list. I must not have been alone in finding this brew a bit less inviting than some of the usual bedtime suspects, since this blend appears to have been discontinued, as it is no longer found at the Good Earth website.

Interestingly, the company taster notes don’t really mention the ingredients which I notice. They do say something about a “calming floral bouquet”, so maybe that includes lavender and hawthorne. But they also mention lime and apple, which are not a part of my experience of this infusion at all. Maybe I just don’t know what tasting notes are, as the list at Steepster is bizarrely abridged and—shall I be frank? (quoi d’autre?!)— arbitrary and tends to omit everything which I actually notice. I mean, why isn’t almond on the list? Or salt? Why cannot chamomile and lavender be tasting notes, I wonder? Seriously, who wrote the list? Why do I have to taste apple when I am tasting chamomile, when in reality I taste chamomile???? Is it allowed to taste chamomile as a note if it is not among the ingredients, I wonder? I mean, are tasting notes always supposed to be of substances not listed as ingredients? So if I can claim to taste spinach in sencha, then why can I not claim to taste chamomile in a honeybush blend? (As an aside: the “suggest a flavor” function has never worked on my computer for some reason… Does it work for anyone else, I wonder?)

Anyway, of late I’ve been exploring lavender and chamomile blends, of which this is one, except that here there are many other ingredients as well. Tonight I find this brew much less discordant than my memory of it, and its sheer oddity is the reason why I still have some of this creation still hanging around these parts though it cannot be purchased anywhere—at least as far as I can tell. After training on some hardhitting lavenders, Organic Good Night now seems mild to me—even somewhat harmonious!

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I have fallen off the “tea log boat”, as I am now in New Zealand and was really flailing about for a while, having depleted all of my Chinese and Japanese green tea supply! Fortunately, my first order of 2015 has now arrived! I should begin writing very soon about tea at my new blog, sherapop’s tea leaves. Please stop by and contribute your ideas—all viewpoints are welcome!

The scent of tea can be just as appealing as—sometimes more than—its taste! Tea also offers boundless visual beauty in its various forms and states of preparation.

A few words about my ratings. In assessing both teas and perfumes, my evaluation is “all things considered.” Teas do not differ very much in price (relative to perfumes or any luxury items), so I do not usually consider the price when rating a tea.

What I do consider is how the particular tea compares to teas of its own type. So I might give a high rating to a fine herbal infusion even though I would never say that it is my favorite TEA. But if it’s good for what it is, then it deserves a high rating. There is no point in wishing that a chamomile blend was an Assam or a sencha tea!

Any rating below 50 means that I find the liquid less desirable to drink than plain water. I may or may not finish the cup, depending upon how thirsty I am and whether there is another hot beverage or (in summertime) a source of fresh water available.

From 50 to 60 indicates that, while potable, the tea is not one which I would buy or repurchase, if I already made the mistake (I have learned) of purchasing it.

From 60 to 70 means that the tea is drinkable but I have criticisms of some sort, and I probably would not purchase or repurchase the tea as I can think of obvious alternatives which would be better.

From 70 to 80 is a solid brew which I would purchase again.

From 80 to 90 is good stuff, and I probably need to have some ready at hand in my humble abode.

From 90 to 100 is a tea (or infusion) which I have come to depend on and look forward to imbibing again and again—if possible!

If you are interested in perfume, you might like my 2400+ perfume reviews, most of which have been archived at sherapop’s sillage (essentially my perfumelog):

Finally, please note that after a great deal of debate with myself, I have decided to use the cupboard here at Steepster as a “museum” of sorts—to commemorate all of the various teas which I have purchased and truly enjoyed since December 2013.

I do not currently possess all of the teas listed in this cupboard, but am using the function as a way of recording how many times I drank every tea which I did own at some point and wish not to forget. Teas found both in my “cupboard” and on my “wishlist” are those which I did own and intend to restock. Teas best forgotten have been removed from the cupboard once depleted (in some cases tossed…).

I have also decided (beginning in 2015) to use the tasting note function to maintain a chronological record of the teas I’ve consumed since December 15, 2013. Most new reviews will now be posted directly at my blog, sherapop’s tea leaves.